Excalibur's Test
by Starren Moonstone
Summary: America takes on a deal with Excalibur: if he can pass Excalibur's test, Excalibur will help America make his dream come true. Meanwhile, the micronations have a challenge of their own as they learn what it means to be a true nation.
1. Prologue

When an idea came into America's mind, it was hard for him to focus on anything else. The idea would pervade everything he did. Being the take action kind of guy he was, America would also do whatever it was in his power to go forth with said idea. That had gotten him in a lot of trouble in the past, so much so that his states collectively agreed that whenever America was in their sector of the country, they would have to keep an eye on him from doing anything stupid. America really didn't like it since he felt like he was being babysat; in all honestly, that was all it was.

The newest idea America had, as he spun his globe on his desk in his capital was exploration. The little rover on Mars had recently given out and left to rot on the planet far from home. It was really sad. America loved space travel, and was always on top of any news about things outside the atmosphere. He knew most people didn't care so much about it anymore, because the really fun things about space could only be done through calculations and probes. The adventurous spirit of America would not be sated by that. He wanted to go out and touch things and experience what the universe had to offer.

The globe slowly halted so that the Atlantic Ocean was facing America. The idea shifted. Not much was known about the ocean to a certain extent. Who knew what creatures lurked in the waters below? What sights that have never been viewed by human eyes? How cool would it be to walk the bottom depths of the ocean floor and experience first hand the creatures down there that sound like they came from a horror story?

'Huh, interesting,' Wales' voice came from nowhere, drawing America from his thoughts. He looked up to see a ghostly image of the celtic nation, wearing a calculating face far more expressive than that nation ever was. 'For a nation as powerful as yours, I was expecting a different kind of path.'

America gritted his teeth. For the past five months, America had been dealing with this spirit. It called itself Excalibur and was the spirit inside that magic sword. While America had found the sword in his storage closet and cleaned it up, the spirit was looking for something. Though it certainly didn't tell America what that something was. "Can you stop doing that?" He hated that this thing could read his mind.

'You won't talk to me, so how am I supposed to find out anything about you?'

"You don't? Like normal people who can't read minds?" This whole mind reading thing was ten times worse than what actual Wales did with his whole "I can read body language" deal.

'Haven't you learned by now that I'm not people?'

America ignored Excalibur, spinning the globe again. Even if he wanted to do stuff with the ocean, he had to get it approved by a lot of people. At the current moment, no one really wanted to listen to him or his ideas. It would get shut down, even though it would be really cool.

'And just like that, the great America gives up.'

"Hey!"

'Am I wrong?' Excalibur challenged with a grin.

America grimaced. "…what do you want? You've been watching over my shoulder for months and you still haven't told me what you are looking for."

Excalibur smiled, and it wasn't the friendly sort of smile. It like a customer service smile mixed with a little hidden motive. 'Ah, see, I have already found what I am looking for. This is merely observation.'

"For what?"

Excalibur didn't explain and shifted the conversation. 'For as long as I have heard your name, America, the one fact remains is that you never give up. You persevere until you get what you want. What's holding you back this time?'

America rolled his eyes. "The world," he grumpily joked.

'Hm… interesting. Well, what if you had a little help?'

"And what can you do?"

'I'm magic. I can do a lot of things to help you. Including get this little idea to become a reality. If you wanted.'

As much as America really didn't like magic things, he did want to see this project go somewhere. He wanted to go exploring again. Though… he remembered something England told him a long time ago about things being too good. "What's the catch?"

Excalibur snickered a little. 'Because there always is one. Nothing is for free, it is true. You need to pass a test in order to get my help. A chance to prove yourself worthy of my abilities and maybe learn a little something along the way. A nation as powerful as you are should have no problem passing it, so you really don't have anything to worry about. What do you say?' Excalibur extended a hand.

America looked at it and thought about it. How much did he really want this to happen? But… if it was just a test that apparently would be really easy…? He took the hand. "What do I have to do?"

'Go find your closest allies and bring them somewhere private. I will tell you what you have to do then.'

"Allies?"

'As witnesses. Any test has to have a witness. Don't take too long now.' Excalibur disappeared, leaving America alone.

America flexed his hand absentmindedly. He looked at the globe again, wondering who should bear witness to this test. Most everyone he knew would question why he was going through with this, and he didn't want to explain. They'd tell him off, saying that this was a bad idea.

'Though,' he thought after a while, 'James did mention that Abigale was having a get together for the micronations… surely I can get a few of the states alone in the room without having to tell them the whole story… right?'


	2. Chapter 1

As much as the northeast coast was an intense place, Massachusetts felt stressed more than usual. She kept kicking herself for feeling that way; not that helped her temperament at all. The main source of the stress was who she would be hosting for a little while: kids. Technically micronations, but they were all still kids. It was discussed with the original 13 colonies of America that they tell their stories to these micronations to help them figure out what it means to be a proper nation. Which was all fine and good, until everyone decided it would be beneficial for Massachusetts to host since a lot of the beginning stuff happened in her state. And while she felt honored, it had been a long while since she had a full house.

"You are really going to pick everyone up looking like that?" South Carolina asked as Massachusetts was trying to find her keys. She, along with Georgia, New Hampshire, and New York, came over the day before. Normally, South Carolina wanted nothing to do with the Northern states, but Massachusetts figured she wanted to tell her side of the story too. Hard to resist. Virginia was going to join as well, but he got hung up with something and was running later than the rest.

Massachusetts looked down at her attire. Jeans, gray hoodie sweatshirt bearing the Red Sox logo, and plain sneakers. This was her typical attire when she wasn't working. "I mean, I'll put on a jacket. I'm not about to freeze to death out there."

"But you are supposed to make an impression on these kids," South Carolina continued, "And that certainly isn't at all impressive." This was also coming from someone who still wore Sunday best every day of the week, regardless of event.

"A few of them are teens, and they don't care about shit. The only one I'm really concerned about is Mo-Joe, and I think the two of us will get along fine from what Lucky has been saying."

"Now, why's that?" Georgia asked, joining South Carolina at the kitchen table.

"He's tough. I'm tough. So we're good." In theory. Massachusetts wasn't much of an optimist, but to get through the introductions, she was going to have to be. The other way it could go is that the two of them will butt heads the whole time.

"You really need some more lady friends," South Carolina said dismissively.

"I do. I have New Hampshire."

South Carolina scoffed. New Hampshire didn't exactly count, because Massachusetts wasn't that close with her and she also had a questionable fashion sense according to South Carolina. Not all the time, only when she was hunting or fishing or doing anything outside.

Massachusetts finally found her keys. "Look, I'm perfectly fine with who I am, and I really don't need your opinion. If I want it, I am more than capable of asking."

South Carolina crossed her arms and leaned back, her scowl becoming more evident. "You never ask."

"And what does that tell you?" Massachusetts shoved on a jacket. "I'll be back later. The downtown area isn't too far from here, though walking might be a bit much with how cold it is. There's some places to eat over there, and a grocery store if there's something you need that you can't find." She did try to predict, however it has been a very long time since they all lived somewhat together and it certainly hasn't been in the past 50 odd years.

"We'll be fine," Georgia assured Massachusetts, "Though don't you think it's a little early to go picking them up. The flight doesn't land for another hour yet."

"Believe me, I'm going to need it." Traffic, even on a good day in Boston, was a nightmare to traverse.

88888

Molossia had conflicting feelings about the trip. On one hand, he was kind of excited seeing his friends and all of them taking day trips and what have you to places he had only heard about before. On the other hand, he didn't really want to be involved with America's states. He was fine with Nevada because that state left him to do his own thing really and gave suggestions and advise only when Molossia asked. Sure, Nevada was acting guardian, but at least Molossia could walk about without having to always answer to everything with the help of a few text messages here and there, the wonders of technology. He wasn't sure if everyone else would be so free. Especially the eastern coast states, since they were always running around as if they were running out of time. It never made much sense to Molossia, and he hoped he would never get like that.

The worst part about flying was deboarding the plane, since everyone would get up at the same time and there was only ever one exit. Molossia was cramped in his seat for longer than he wished to and was so grateful to get out and stretch his legs. He headed to the luggage claim, being told that was where he would be picked up by Massachusetts, who was supposed to be hosting. Nevada did say that Molossia might like her; Molossia wasn't really holding his breath. Massachusetts was an adult and someone of some importance. They all were kind of stuck up in some fashion. As he got closer, he found Massachusetts, standing near where his flight's carousel was at holding a sign that read "Mo-Joe". Molossia groaned.

"Did Nevada tell you that one?" he asked grumpily.

"_Lucky_ did, yes, but to be fair, I think Fernandina was the first to come up with it." Massachusetts noticed Molossia still glaring with death daggers. "Look, Joe is such a common name, and I knew no one else would put Mo-Joe on a sign. I promise to not use it if you hate it that much, but it really isn't a bad nickname."

"You could have just put my actual name."

"Yes, and get confused stares and questions from random people. No thanks. Grab your bag, we have to hurry."

"Why?"

"We have to cross the entire airport to pick up everyone else, and they should be getting through customs soon."

The two of them were nearly running, literally, across the airport with a quick stop at the car so that Molossia didn't have to carry his bags all over the place. It wasn't because the airport was a big place. Texas had bigger airports. The issue with this one was that it wasn't all connected and there was no good way getting to the international section from where they were.

"If you think this is convoluted, just wait 'til you see the rest of the city," Massachusetts said when Molossia was complaining about the whole thing, "It's a maze with how many one way streets there are here."

They made it to customs by the time people were starting to come out. Kugelmugel was the first through, and they looked so grateful to see Molossia. They took out a small folded piece of paper and handed it to Molossia with a giant smile on their face.

"Malleri, right?" Massachusetts asked, "How was the flight?"

Kugelmugel shrugged as Molossia unfolded the paper. It was a sketch of a small flower garden against the wall of a house. Forget-me-nots from the look of it. This was a well done picture, but that wasn't saying much because all of the sketches Kugelmugel did were amazingly done. They forced Molossia to take the picture.

"Thanks," Molossia said slowly.

Kugelmugel beamed.

"Not much of a talker, are you?" Massachusetts said, "Gilbert did mention something about that…"

Once again, Kugelmugel shrugged.

"Molossia!" Seborga's voice cut through the crowd, getting pretty much everyone's attention.

Molossia just stood there, trying to look cool as Massachusetts walked right up to Seborga. She shared a few heated words with him. "I still don't get what the whole fuss is about with our names," Molossia said, his arms crossed.

"Gilbert said it's because most people don't know about nationkind," Kugelmugel explained quietly.

"Really?" Molossia didn't really know a lot of people. There certainly weren't that many in his nation, and they didn't really talk to him much.

Kugelmugel nodded. "People would freak out. Gilbert said so."

Molossia rolled his eyes. He had no idea who this Gilbert was, why Kugelmugel trusted this guy, or why his opinion mattered at all.

Seborga sheepishly walked over once Massachusetts was done with her rant. "I take it we don't mess with her?" Seborga whispered to Molossia.

Molossia shrugged. He wasn't sure what to make of this state yet really. For the time being, it was probably for the best to not mess with her.

Sealand and Wy came out next. Sealand was of course all excited; Wy kept looking back at the door.

"Marvin is supposed to have been following us," she explained, "I thought he was right behind me."

"He was walking slow," Sealand said, "And he's been acting weird on the plane."

Molossia thought that was weird. Hutt River usually had a pep in his step. Not as bad as Sealand or Seborga, but one never the less. He had been quiet on the group chat they all had. Wy never said anything about it; part of that was attributed to the fact that she rarely was on the group chat herself.

Massachusetts seemed to take it all in stride. "I had a feeling. Out of everyone, he's the one I'm not as worried about being on his own."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sealand said.

"Considering three of you are kids and one of you is just like his brother…" Massachusetts looked right at Seborga.

"I don't get into trouble…" Seborga said. Massachusetts didn't let her gaze be swayed. "…often."

"Often enough for it to be a concern. Especially recently. Be glad I know how to deal with a klutz."

Finally, Hutt River got through security. Molossia could tell immediately that this micronation was having a rough time. He didn't have his cape on, for one, and there was no smile present on his face.

"Did everything go ok getting through customs?" Massachusetts asked.

Hutt River nodded, but didn't elaborate.

"Right. Well, we're all here now. Shall we head out?"

"Where are we going?" Sealand asked as the group headed to the parking garage.

"My house. It isn't too far from here… once we get out of the city."

"We aren't going to see the city?" Sealand pouted.

"I think it would be better for you all to see where you're going to be staying. It's kind of a big place. I promise you'll get a better look at Boston real soon."

"It's the only place in this state," Molossia muttered.

"The only place you know," Massachusetts corrected him, "But believe me, that's going to change by the end of the trip."

Molossia avoided her eyes. He did know that there had to be something else interesting in this small state, or else Nevada wouldn't have insisted on sending Molossia on the trip. Molossia knew that he and his friends were going to learn about America's revolution, but surely nothing could have started in such a small state.

88888

Virginia took a deep breath before knocking on the front door of Massachusetts' house. He prayed that she wouldn't be the one to open the door. Maybe it could be New York, or Georgia. Someone who wouldn't immediately snap at him for bringing along a friend.

"This place certainly hasn't changed at all," America said, joining Virginia at the top of the steps.

"You've visited Abigale before," Virginia commented.

"Yeah, but in the city. It's been a while since I've been to the house. Not since the last time Abigale hosted my birthday."

That was a few decades ago, at least. Every year, one state would host the Fourth of July in their territory. Massachusetts usually hosted hers in this house, mainly because it was big enough to house everyone. Plus it had a big backyard. Though, whenever Virginia visited Massachusetts, it was usually in this house. Virginia shrugged it off as America living for the city.

The door got answered by South Carolina, a very confused look on her face. "Glad you could… Alfred, isn't this a surprise?"

"I know, right?" America gave a giant grin that made Virginia cringe a bit.

"Where's Abigale?" Virginia asked.

"She's out collecting the kids. Consider yourself lucky." South Carolina stepped out of the way to let the two of them in.

"Man, Abby really hasn't changed this place at all," America mused, looking around. None of the pictures had changed, that was for sure. They were of old maps and paintings of places far beyond American boarders. Though, Massachusetts did make sure to upgrade the place to be able to have electric lighting and outlets.

"It's the one thing I can agree with her about," South Carolina admitted quietly to Virginia, "She does have a respect for history."

"That's the odd thing, considering what her feelings were when she got the house."

"Well, I am convinced that England's old room got changed, but at least the majority of the house still has the integrity of the past." America kept walking down the hallway. "So tell me, James, why is Alfred with you and why did you neglect to tell the rest of us?"

"It was a last minute thing, and I didn't want to tell Alfred no. He's been a little more clingy lately."

"James, he's always clingy."

"More clingy than usual. Besides, if we are going to be sharing our story with the kids, we might as well have Alfred here too. At the end of the day, it is really his story."

"I suppose so, however my story is my own. He cannot claim that."

"…we should probably go find everyone else," Virginia said, "And grab Alfred."

"Everyone who's here is in the den. There really aren't that many of us."

"Just you, me, Lex, Susanna, and Georgia." It was still odd to Virginia that Georgia came alone, but that was her business and he was sure she would give out all the details anyway. Her life was like an open book at times, though no one could really top how open Florida could be.

As South Carolina said, everyone who was at the house was in the den. The tv was on, talking about March Madness, since it was coming up shortly. New York and Georgia were very invested in it, while New Hampshire was cleaning up a rifle.

"Al," New Hampshire said in surprise, "I thought you would still be in D.C.?"

"I wanted to come and see all of you. I get bored."

"I'm not surprised."

"Hey, actually, great timing," New York turned around, "Do you have a team you're gunning to win this year?"

America tilted his head and went into a deep thought. Virginia rolled his eyes and took a seat on the couch.

"How was the drive?" Georgia asked as New York and America started getting into a sports filled conversation.

"It wasn't that bad," Virginia said, "It was a little less tedious with Al honestly."

"He didn't make it difficult?"

Virginia shook his head. "What brings this on?"

"Well, Abigale was saying that Al was having…" Georgia glanced to where Alfred was, then leaned closer to Virginia, "Problems?"

"He's gotten better since that party over in Europe," Virginia said quietly, "A lot less broken plates."

Georgia looked shocked. "He's never been one to throw things."

"Not on purpose. This was all by accident. Something to do with magic. I still don't understand."

"Has he ever used it before? Magic, I mean. I always thought that was just Abigale's quirk."

Virginia shrugged. It was true. Massachusetts was the only one of the states that could use magic, as far as Virginia was aware. That was not to say that the other states weren't aware of magic and what it could do. They each had some sort of cryptid or another, and quite a few areas where the unexplained happened.

"So, bets, you two?" New York shoved a Yankee's baseball cap in between Virginia and Georgia.

"On?"

"March Madness. Were you not listening?"

"You know I'm just going to promote my own state," Virginia said, "You know this right?"

"And what do you think Abigale and I do all the time?" New York raised an eyebrow. "Will you back up your team with cash?" He shook the hat.

Footsteps came running from out of the room, and soon enough, Massachusetts stood in the doorway of the den. Her eyes almost immediately landed on America. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked, her eyes hardening.

"Surprise!" America did an exaggerated pose, arms extended with palms opened wide.

"Could you not have asked me first?"

"I thought you would like the surprise."

"You aren't the only one visiting. I kinda have my hands full." She gestured to the room at large. "Not to mention having to keep an eye on three kids and three teenagers?"

"I can help. Besides, how can you talk about the revolution without me?"

"Easily."

"Look," Virginia piped up in America's defense, "He's already here, he might as well stay."

Massachusetts looked at America's hands. "Where are your gloves?"

"Matt sealed my magic," America explained, grinning the whole time, "It isn't going to be a problem."

Massachusetts let out a long sigh, and she pulled out her phone. "So long as you promise." She left the room, dialing some number none of them knew.

New York jammed the baseball cap in Virginia's arm. "Sooo?"

Virginia pursed his lips and put in a ten dollar bill. "University of Virginia. Heard they have a pretty good team this year."

88888

For the past few months or so, Hutt River couldn't shake the feeling of emotional numbness. The world just felt different around him. His boss recently passed away… and nothing else had changed. Life continued to move on around him, and he still wasn't sure how to feel about it. He just… couldn't get himself to move on. Nothing really seemed important enough to matter…

Hutt River caught himself spacing out, looking out the window to his right. Not that there was anything interesting going on outside, it just happened to be where his eyes were. He was doing that a lot more recently, and he knew it was scaring Wy and Australia. They didn't show it per say, but they were acting different around him. There was apprehension, like he was supposedly glass.

In the current moment, he and the other micronations were waiting out in the main entrance of Massachusetts' house. Their host told them all to wait there, and she bolted off to who knows where. Maybe it had something to do with the car parked out front. Most everyone was hanging around an old map of the eastern coast of the United States… all except for Hutt River, and Molossia.

"So… um, did you get the package I sent?" Molossia asked, quieter than he usually would when talking. He was radiating embarrassment that Hutt River felt was a bit unnecessary. It was just a gift from a friend.

"…yeah. Sorry, I should have said I got it." The package in question was a mix of different flower seeds. Not that Hutt River was into gardening at all. Molossia seemed to like plants, based from a few odd comments.

"You've been quiet since Christmas…"

"Things have been busy for me." Hutt River felt bad about lying, but he wasn't sure what else to do. He didn't want to talk about the recent events to anyone, even his friends.

"Yeah…" The problem with Molossia was always how genuine he was when saying anything. Molossia was always playing the cool guy, and it bothered Hutt River more than it probably should. It always felt like Molossia was hiding something; it was an uncomfortable feeling.

Massachusetts came back. She looked annoyed, though Hutt River wasn't sure as to what. "Ok, let me show you where you'll be staying. I divided you all up by kids vs. teens. I felt it was the fairest way of doing it."

"We're sharing rooms?" Molossia asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Do we get bunk beds?" Sealand asked excitedly.

"Yes, you're sharing rooms. And yes, I've set up bunk beds."

Sealand punched the open air in victory.

"This house is old, Joe," Massachusetts explained as she led the micronations down the hall, "I think you all will feel a little better being in a room with other people."

"I'm not a kid. I can handle it." Molossia crossed his arms.

"Oh, come on. It'll be fun!" Seborga said, "I want a top bunk."

"I want one too."

"Good thing there are two bunk beds then," Massachusetts said, rolling her eyes, "Unless you want top bunk too, Marvin."

Hutt River shook his head. He really didn't care one way or the other.

"Here are the rooms." Massachusetts pointed out two rooms that were side by side. They both had a door ornament hanging to differentiate the rooms from each other. One had a wooden pair of socks colored red while the other had a creepy face wearing a blue hat. "The bathroom is right here." She pointed to the door across the hall with her knuckle. "I'm going to grab some towels. We can talk about what you all want to do tomorrow. I know the flight must have been a bit rough for all of you. I'll give you the afternoon. Dinner is going to be about 7, and I'll introduce you to the other states. Sound good?"

"We'll take the sock room!" Sealand said.

Hutt River looked at the face. He really didn't like the look of it, and wondered who thought this design was ok. Molossia opened the door. As promised, there were two bunk beds, already made with sheets and blankets. The floor was hardwood, with a round rug at the center of the room. Hutt River sat down on one of the bottom bunks while Seborga claimed a top bunk.

"This is going to be fun," Seborga said from the bunk, "We should share scary stories sometime."

"Do you even like horror?" Molossia asked.

"Oh, sure. Maybe not jump-scare horror, but that's just kinda cheap horror anyway."

Hutt River closed his eyes, and brought his knees to his face. He wished he could be more a part of the conversation.

"So you think haunted houses suck?" Molossia asked.

"I actually haven't been to one."

"You're missing out then."

"But they're all jump scares, aren't they?"

"No."

It was going to be a long trip.

* * *

**Author's Note**: Welp, having a little more time on my hands does indeed mean some more time creating. Either via writing or Animal Crossing. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I am working on the next one, but am not sure when it will get put out. Depends on life at this point. Until then, please comment.


End file.
